In a hearing before the Senate’s Foreign Relations Committee, Brazil’s Foreign Minister Carlos França said the country aims to expand and diversify economic and trade relations with China, which has grown to become its largest trading partner.

“China, of course, is a country with which we work on a priority basis. It is, of course, the largest trading partner of Brazil and one of the five largest foreign investors in the country” França said, according to Xinhua.

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França underlined that bilateral trade grew in 2020, despite the pandemic, to a record of USD 102.5 billion, with a surplus for Brazil of USD 33 billion.

“And, in the first quarter of 2021, there are already signs that this trend will continue”, the minister went on.

“We want an even greater economic-trade relationship with China, and also more diversified. Our exports to China, still concentrated on a few primary products, will be able to expand in quantity and variety”, he added.

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França highlighted the Sino-Brazilian High-Level Commission for Consultation and Cooperation (Cosban) will meet in the second half of this year.

“It is a high-level forum and, on the part of Brazil, it is led by the Vice President of the Republic, Hamilton Mourão. It will be an opportunity to promote topics that help to intensify trade, investment and cooperation with China”, the minister said.

“The 5th edition of Cosban, held in May 2019 in Beijing, determined the updating of the Commission’s structure and the elaboration of a new bilateral cooperation plan, and it was up to Brazil to prepare the two initial proposals”, he elaborated.

During the hearing, Senator Kátia Abreu, who chairs the committee, highlighted that, in 2020, 32.2 per cent of Brazilian exports were to China.

The Brazilian senator added that there is “room to move forward”.